This invention relates to oral health care implements and systems, particularly relating to improved toothbrushes utilizing new technologies for the dental field. In particular, the invention relates to the usage-monitoring capabilities of both manual and electric toothbrushes.
The human body, including the oral cavity, possesses the property of being a good capacitor, such that the human body has a detectable capacitance. The capacitance of the human body is significant enough to affect changes in an electrical circuit with capacitance. The capacitance of the human body can affect the overall capacitance of an electrical circuit when introduced via a conductive material.
Dental plaque is a biofilm that forms naturally on teeth between brushing and dental visits. Dental plaque can be a precursor to more severe oral health problems including: dental caries, tooth decay, gingivitis, and chronic periodontitis. The occurrence of dental caries is one of the largest health epidemics in the world and is the most common chronic childhood disease in the United States. Likewise, gingivitis and dental calculus are two of the most common systemic diseases of the body. It is desirable to monitor and diagnose dental plaque early stage as a preventive measure against more serious disease states. The most common preventive measure implemented to control the formation of dental plaque is the toothbrush.
Further still, clinical dental visits with dental practitioners are a method of prevention and detection of dental plaque. Regular dental visits are recommended to occur every six months. Regular toothbrush replacement is recommended to occur every three months according to dental practitioners. The lack of adherence to these recommendations and lack of brushing compliance is often a contributing factor to the development of dental plaque and its associated complications. Regular replacement of toothbrushes is often disregarded by users and cause issues as bristles become deformed and are no longer providing the proper cleaning.
Consequently, dental practitioners are in need of an adequate means to monitor the usage of dental implements between clinical dental visits. Moreover, dental practitioners are in need of an accurate method of determining the usage of a particular dental implement to make recommendations based upon its usage. Usage monitoring of dental implements has long been difficult as the main method of collecting data is by inquiring a particular patient. Consequently, a method for measuring the usage of dental implements is desirable for dental practitioners.